Bognor Chichester CTC Ride Notes- Club Website is at www.bognorchichesterctc.org.uk

Sunday, 9 June 2013

Sunday 9th June. Strawberry Tea Ride

The weather today was dry but mixed with it being cloudy and cool in the morning but warmer and much more sun in the afternoon. Temperatures reached 19C.

The Strawberry tea was hosted by Avryl at Tangmere and in all 24 attended.

I was down to lead the day ride taking lunch at Hooksway before going on to the tea. However everybody in the end made their own ways there so nobody else turned up for the start of the ride at Chichester Cross. Not to be put off by the minor technicality of having nobody to lead I set off on the ride anyway.

I headed for West Dean Gardens for elevenses taking the pleasant Centurion Way cyclepath. Sheep were grazing beside the River Lavant.

I had chosen West Dean Gardens coincidently without checking where other Sections were going. However it turned out that Arun Adur Section were due to meet us at Hooksway stopping for elevenses at West Dean Gardens. Paul Price joined me there though he was also the only one to turn out on his Sections Ride.

I had somebody to lead!! I took the route with Paul along the beautiful though hilly lane from West Dean to Chilgrove and then on to Hooksway for lunch.

Paul headed for home after lunch. I took the lane via North Marden and then East Marden and its picturesque Well.

Then it was on via Stoughton, Walberton and Funtington. Then it was the lane from Funtington to West Stoke with a brief stop for a picture of the bike with a background of a Rape field leading towards Kingley Vale.

Then it was on via Lavant to Tangmere for a highlight of the year, the Strawberry Tea with Avryl. It was hard to get everybody in with one picture.

The sun came out and Avryl’s garden was sheltered from the NE wind.

Most people had arrived by bike.

The focus of the afternoon , part of the magnificent spread Avryl laid on.

The mileage from and back to Chichester would have been about 30. My mileage for the day from Pagham was 42.

A lovely sunny afternoon, albeit a little breezy, which kept the temperature down to about 19 degrees.

There were 8 of us out in total: Steve, Carol, Debbie, Liz, David, Mark, Phil & myself.

The wind was blowing North Easterly, completely opposite to the normally prevailing south westerly, so to make the most of wind assistance, I decided on a clockwise circuit.

We took a contorted route through South & North Bersted, then on to Shripney Lane where we crossed the high embankment of the Northern Relief road, construction of which is well underway.

At this point we stopped to inspect the strange scraping noise from Debbies back wheel, which turned out to be a problem with the mudguard. Despite Steves best efforts, all attempts at curing this proved fruitless; the fittings were fatally fractured and there was no option but surgery. We proceeded, minus one mudguard.

Via the usual back alleys, we turned on to the A29 for a short sprint to Hook Lane, then it was Aldingbourne Church, Norton Lane, and a hidden back route into the Country Centre after a "life in your hands" crossing of the A27. Although there was a central refuge, the traffic was running very fast today.

After dallying at the Country Centre for refreshments and a look at the Farm & the woodland trail, Mark and Phil left us to head to Tangmere.

The main ride continued across the A27 again and down Level Mare Lane. At this point we met a German tourist who had taken the train to Arundel but had decided to cycle back to Chicester. Armed with only a very rudimentary tourist map, he was looking for a way to stay off the A27. We set him off in the right direction.

It was on to Eastergate Lane, then one of my favourite bridle ways to Barnham, then the Cycletrack to Flansham.

A few back roads to Bognor library, and we completed a round trip of 16.5 miles

Today Harvey was the leader on the short ride which was to West Marden. With warm pleasant sunshine there was a good turnout. Harvey was joined by myself, Sam, Adrian, Alan, Liz, Christine, Keith and Avryl so 9 out on the day.

For a change we headed up North Street and then a stretch of the B Road before turning off onto the lane to West Stoke and then Funtington. From here it was up a gentle hill to Racton and then another pleasant country lane.

The route then took us straight to Stansted Garden Centre where we managed to secure an outside table for a pleasant break finishing Keith's crossword.

Also there were 30 plus cyclists from the Bognor Regis Cycling Club which is a racing club which does half day Sunday Club Rides. There were a good number of bikes spread out on the lawn.

Alan and Liz went back from elevenses. The rest of us headed out on the long but gentle climb through the woods from Stansted to Forrestside.

Then it was along a lane and down a short but steep descent to The Victoria, West Marden for lunch. Sam reported a speed of 38 mph down the hill.

Lunch was taken in the garden and the Barman seeing me taking a photo offered to take a photo of all of us with my Camera. He did a good job of organizing us getting everybody to look at the Camera and be included.

Then it was a tailwind and a slight downhill down the valley. Adrian left us to head for home at the junction with the B Road. The rest of us headed for the South Coast Cycleroute lanes back to Chichester and stopped at Fishbourne Roman Palace Cafe for tea.

Mileage from and back to Chichester Cross was pretty much on the estimated 25 miles. My total mileage from Pagham was 37.

Below are my latest 2 HDR pictures. The first is taken from rear of a DLR train as it leaves Bank Tube Station. The second is a picture of Black Tulips standing out at the Keukenhof gardens, Holland. More detailsat http://edwinjonesphotography.com/

This ride was led by Graham but he asked me to do the write-up to get a view from the Peloton as he put it.

The weather had included a heavy shower in the late afternoon but all had cleared by the evening.

We met at the Leisure Centre, Felpham and Graham was joined by myself, Julian, John, Debbie, Steve, Carol and David who had been out with us only once before. 8 out in total.

Graham led us on the usual convoluted back streets north of the A259 including parts of the new Flansham Estate providing fresh ground to explore. Then it was up the Barnham cyclepath across the fields. We did a brief diversion to look at the Chichester Arundel Canal some of which is being restored including an old swing bridge named Stewarts Bridge after one of the Canal Company Shareholders (I was listeningGraham!)

When we reached the tarmac instead of the usual route to Barnham we took a right on a back lane coming out near Barnham Windmill. Then it was a loop taking in Yapton and the lane up to the pedestrian crossing of the railway. This is a stop, look and listen crossing. Some of us got across until a train was spotted keeping 2 waiting. This included Network Rail man Steve so we did have the benefit of an expert .

Then it was on to Barnham to stop at the Murrell Arms. Here we had the benefit of live music with 2 guitar players. Julian reported that they were playing all his favorite tunes.

We left for home at about 9.30 with enough light still to return on the Barnham path. Mileage from and back to the Leisure Centre was about 14.

I was the Ride Leader today and the weather was perfect with sun all day and temperatures up to 17C. Finally shorts and short sleeves came out.

I was joined at Chichester Cross by Harvey, Gill, Philip, Chris, Anne Conway and Sue Howe.

We took the South Coast Cycleroute lanes via Woodmancote, and Westbourne to stop for elevenses at Cafe Nero, Havant. Chris left us after elevenses to head home

Then it was on some backstreets to Cosham. From there it was cyclepaths alongside the Hilsea Inlet which looked especially good in the sunshine and at high tide. Then it was more cyclepaths and backstreets including the entrance to the Continental Ferry Port. I missed out on leading the group via France and instead it was more cyclepaths and backstreets passing close to the Spinnaker Tower before heading down the street towards the Isle of Wight ferry. That was missed out though and it was on to the streets of Old Portsmouth.

Then it was on to the Southsea seafront road and a good tailwind on to the Royal Marines Museum and the Quartermasters Cafe. The Cafe can be accessed without needing to pay to go into the Museum. The food was good and at reasonable prices so well worth a return visit sometime.

The return route headed towards the Eastern Road Cyclepath. First though to avoid the traffic I headed for the shoreline and took a footpath along the shore until we joined the cyclepath. This follows the line of the shore, over a bridge and then following the A27 but separated from it by trees.

Then it was on to a path alongside an Inlet and over a bridge across the A27.

A short way further on we came out on familiar territory on Bidbury Lane at Bedhampton. Then it was a short way to Havant and then on to a tea stop at Heidi’s, Emsworth.

We split up after tea with Harvey, Gill and Philip heading straight home on the A259. I led Sue and Anne back to Chichester on the lanes via Westbourne.

Mileage for the day from and back to Chichester was 42. My mileage from Pagham was 54.

This ride was led by myself Julian, also turning up for the ride at the Arun Leisure Center were Graham, Harvey, two Johns, Carole and Steve plus two friends of theirs Lynn and Richard. It was a really nice evening and we all set off for the Barnham cycle path, on reaching Barnham we all turned towards Yapton and then turned up to go through Ford Lane making for the Ship & Anchor

After quenching our thirsts we headed past Ford Prison (waving at the prisoners as we went past), crossing the roundabout we took the lane past Clymping School and then out on to the main road (not too busy thank goodness) but turning off at Comet Corner, here other cyclists started peeling off for home leaving just John who carried onto Aldwick and myself stopping at the Arun Leisure Center arriving just after 10-00pm.

This was the 2nd DA Event of the year starting and finishing from Sumner’s Pond Cafe, Barnes Green near Billingshurst. Contrary to the forecast the weather was dry in the morning if overcast and there was warm sunshine in the afternoon.

The event was organized by Bob of Horsham Section with the usual selection of ingenious clues and an excellent route on quiet lanes many of which I had not ridden before. The total route was 31 miles.

11 took part altogether with 6 from Horsham and 2 from Arun Adur. There were only 2 from Bognor Chichester, Anne and I with John Maxim joining us just for the morning.

Anne ended up with the job of writing down the answers.

The morning’s route included views of a lot of Bluebell woods which are currently at their peak. The picture below was taken of Anne passing some bluebells. Due to low light under the trees my compact camera choose a slow shutter speed so accident not design.

We stopped for lunch at the Partridge Inn, Partridge Green which is well worth a visit on a future Sunday Ride.

An example of one of the clues is Small Stuttering Pig Here. See the picture below for the answer.

On the route some of the house names which were not clues were particularly interesting. Lackeys House, Little Burnt House, Burnt House, Cracked Barn and Barking Dogs Cottage!

At the end to Bobs great chagrin all of us got nearly all the clues right with 2 of the 5 groups docked half a point for partial answers. There was a tie break between 3 groups. The tie break was the number of Slow signs painted on the road. Dave Fox and Paul Price from Arun Adur were closest and won the event.

My latest HDR pictures included this one of lines of Tulips in the fields of Holland taken on my recent trip there.

On Saturday I went to Angmering Park Woods where there is a massive spread of Bluebells currently at their peak. One of the many taken there is below.

Sam waited alone at Chi Cross while the South Downs Velo boys gathered in great numbers. A new recruit rolled up only to be drawn into the South Downs Velo ride. But wait, a call from Colin to say he would be there soon. Sam phoned Jeff to say he felt rough and was only likely to go as far as Hambledon (this was later denied!)which persuaded Jeff to start at Chi rather than Rowlands Castle?

A peloton of 3 set off taking turns into the strong head winds at a pace more suited to South Downs Velo. The route was A259 to Southbourne and Westbourne. A brief stop was allowed at Rowlands Castle before another fast paced ride to Hambledon. This is where there is a quaint cafe where you can still get tea bag tea and instant coffee, or is it the other way round? Anyhow racing cyclists were queuing outside and Sam decided to continue onto Exton even though Colin was setting up a punishing pace.

Jeff decided enough was enough, especially as heavy rain was forecast , ate lunch and rode at amoderate pace back to Chichester before the rain. (45 miles)Sam and Colin managed to get back to Rowlands Castle before the rain but after that it was wet,wet,wet . (60 miles for Sam80 miles for Colin having rode from Barnham .Here is a picture of how Sam felt after the ride.

The forecast promised wind and heavy showers - we got the wind but fortunately the rain restricted itself to a couple of very light showers.,There were only 4 of us at the start point Chichester Library, Phillippa, Liz from Midhurst, Debbie, and Graham.

Phillippa led us on an Easterly heading meaning that we avoided most of the prevailing South West wind. We went through St Richards Hospital grounds and onto some new cycletrack to Westhampnett (with a short diversion to inspect the crumbling remains of Graylingwell Hospital). From there it was via Stane Street to Strettington and Waterbeach then a short climb up to Halnaker Crossroads. Downhill through Boxgrove we stopped for a photo and quick exploration of Boxgrove Priory.

However we didn't have to explore far before making a new discovery - that Liz had a puncture. Despite the disc brakes and stand which would needremoving, it might have been possible to repair the tube at the roadside, but in the end Liz opted for some Tyreweld, which she had used on a previous occasion. This inflated the tyre suffiicently to continue, and got her all the way home.

Problem solved, we continued over that long A27 bridge crossing and into Tangmere, our destination the Military Aviation museum.After a suitable refreshment stop, we left Tangmere at 4.40pm, Phillippa & Liz heading back to Chichester via the Oving Road, and Debbie and I returning to Bognor via Woodhorn and Colworth.

The round trip was about 13 miles. I recorded 22 back to home, which was partially train assisted on the outward trip to Chichester.Graham

Those taking part in this year’s long weekend on the Isle of Wight were myself, John, Anne, Debbie and Sam.

Weather was generally good except for Saturday morning which was a strong headwind all day with some drizzle clearing to sun in the afternoon. Sunday and Monday were warm and sunny.

On the Saturday we took the usual lanes via Westbourne to stop for an early elevenses at Café Nero, Havant.

Then on to Portsmouth via the cycle route from Cosham to the ferry. On the Island we took lanes and hills to stop for lunch at Arreton. Then it was more lanes and part of the Newport to Sandown cyclepath to stop for tea at Godshill. The route to the B&B at Ventnor included a road with great views from the cliffs over the channel.

Sunday was the day of the Isle of Wight Randonnee with about 2000 taking part starting from 6 different control points. We started from Whitwell on the south coast near Ventnor. It is important to note that for this event although there is a recommended route it is only necessary to visit all 6 controls to complete it.

John and Anne were faster up hills than the rest of us so they went on ahead and I led Sam and Debbie on a route which included some judicious choices of shortcuts and hill avoidance to get Sam round who was feeling a little fragile from lack of fitness.

The first shortcut was to follow the military road along the south coast rather than the lanes a little inland. There were beautiful views of the freshwater cliffs.

Having gone ahead of us John and Anne were initially a little nonplussed to have to overtake us a little before Freshwater. We stopped for elevenses at the Yarmouth control at a school where the tables groaned with cheap food provided by the parents, cakes for 50p.

After Yarmouth John and Anne took the official lanes route while I led the others on the main road. John and Anne had to overtake us again near Newtown thought they stayed ahead of us after that.

The route continued via Cowes, Wooton and Bembridge where there was more food. I couldn’t avoid anywhere near all the hills. This was an especially sharp one near Brading.

We eventual got back to Whitwell to finish the route and get our certificates.

Back at base John and Anne told us of their encounters with a man wearing only a mankini riding his bike on the short route causing a mix of laughter and alarm. Unfortunately we missed this so the man did not get the dubious benefit of Sam’s sharp tongue or of my camera.

However I thought it best to try to convey a little of the situation with an internet picture of somebody modeling the garment added with some editing to a fairly suitable picture of John and Anne which I took on Saturday.

Today We headed straight back on lanes across the Island with a stop for elevenses at the Garlic Farm Cafe near Newchurch. They had on there a display of 2 Owls and a Hawk from the Islands mobile Hawk Consevancy.

Then it was back to the ferry and Portsmouth in beautiful sunshine.

We stopped for lunch at somewhere new to most of us which wasPoppins in Havant. Tea was at the Roman Palace Fishbourne.

My last HDR picture was taken on returning from the Arun Adur Tuesday ride last Tuesday, Tulips at West Dean planted by Anne merged with Blossom and Daffodils in Bognor, with all pictures taken on the same day.

John led this ride on a very pleasant early summer evening. Sun was out but as the sun lowered so did the temperatures. Quite chilly on the return route.

There were 6 of us at the start point - John, Graham, Alan, Julian, Harvey, & new rider David. John took us on a wide circuit via Flansham, Yapton, Walberton and Fontwell, then some rough stuff through Northfields Lane through to Westergate, Aldingbourne, and on to the Gribble.

Keen to do a shorter circuit, Alan & Julian had left us at Yapton crossing, presumably to go direct via Barnham & Eastergate, but when we arrived at the Gribble they were nowhere in sight, nor did they subsequently appear. We assume they curtailed the ride at some point.

To complete the circle the return ride was direct via Colworth and North Bersted.

Today the morning was bright and sunny with temperatures up to 13C. Colin was leading the long ride today to Dial Post off the A24 between Worthing and Horsham.

There were 4 of us in all, Colin, Anne, Rex and myself meeting for an early 9.00am start at a spring like Walberton Pond.

Colin led us on lanes towards Slindon and then a short stretch of the A29 before turning off on lanes towards Madehurst. There is a beautiful idyllic country cottage on the lanes which always makes a great backdrop for a picture but especially at this time of year.

We continued with a fast descent of Houghton Hill and on via Amberley, Wiggonholt and then a lane towards Nutbourne.

Then it was West Chiltington and down the old Freewheel Competition hill before a lane up to Billingshurst for elevenses at the Burdfields Country Market and Café.

By elevenses I was flagging somewhat with lack of fitness after 5 weeks with little riding due to a virus. I decided to return from there. The others continued to Dial Post and lunch at the Old Barn Nursery.

I took a fairly direct route back and as the short ride had lunch at the Sandwich Place, Arundel which was not far off my route I decided to head there and try to meet up with them. Their leader was Arthur and there were 11 out including Arthur and Lynn, Avryl, Sam, Harvey, Graham, newcomer Anne and a lot of Moulton Club riders.

They had stopped for elevenses at Barnham but by the time I arrived at Arundel at 1.15 they had just left. I rang Arthur and found out they were just riding up the Ford Road. I headed that way and found them gathered at the side of the road. I found out that my phone call had caused chaos and confusion. Arthur had slowed the group down to stop and answer the call. Harvey had overbalanced or clipped somebody and fell off into the verge (no injuries) but Graham coming up behind rode over Harvey’s back wheel and fell off resulting in a little grazing to the leg and a bruised hand. Also Harvey’s wheel was buckled from being ridden over.

After everybody was sorted we continued with Harvey catching a train home from nearby Ford Station. We continued back via Yapton and then Walberton. We stopped at Walberton Pond where Arthur called a smoking stop! First time for everything I suppose but there were 4 smokers in the group.

Then it was on via Eastergate and Oving to stop for tea at Arthur’s house in Chichester. Arthur showed us his workshop, somebody asked him how many bikes he had but he couldn’t recall so he did a count, current number is 11.

The free 1 day promotion on Friday on my new photography eBook did the trick of raising its profile. 435 downloads worldwide including 78 in the UK and 334 in the US. The book reached No 1 in the Kindle Bestsellers top 100 free eBooks for the category of Photography.

Below are my latest HDR pictures. First is a processed picture of Daffodils at Slindon taken into the light and with tree branches behind. The second one is a view of Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich.

Today the weather was mainly sunny though with a chill wind and temperatures up to 13C, Out of the wind in the sun it felt quite warm.

Sam was the leader and he was joined only by myself and Samantha. Note that as Samantha likes to be called Sam but as that would be a bit confusing I will call her Samantha in this Blog.

Sam led us east out of Chichester pas Goodwood Airfield and lanes round to Waterbeach and then up Pillygreen Hill. A stop at the top enabled a quick picture.

Then it was down to East Dean and the pleasant winding lane across to Upwaltham. Then it was a short way on the main road and a fast descent of Duncton Hill, both Sam and I got to 45 mph. Sam was especially pleased to set off the electronic Slow Down sign normally aimed at motorists.

Then it was along the pleasant back road to Seaford College.

As we went past Seaford college Sam was getting increasing problems with his gears. We stopped near Grafffham Church for a quick gear tweak. Picture courtesy of Samantha.

We continued to Graffham Village shop for elevenses, the first time I had tried this for hot drinks. This was a pleasant stop in the sun and out of the wind.

We continued on lanes towards Selham and Sam celebrated the top of the hill.

It was then more lanes past Cowdrey Polo fields and on to Midhurst to stop for lunch at The Tea Pot Cafe and a pleasant stop in the sun at the back.

The return route was via Trotton and lanes via Didling and a tea stop at the Pub at Cocking. Then it was up Cocking hill discovering only as we passed it that Cocking Tea rooms have now re-opened. Times are 10.00 to 5.00 weekends only.

Mileage from and back to Chichester was spot on the estimate of 40 miles, well done Sam. My mileage from Pagham was 53.

Cycling Road report - Tis the season for road dressing especially locally. Based on roads I have seen recently these roads are going to be uncomfortable to cycle on for the next week or more

The road to Yapton from the crossroads at Middleton

Merston Lane

Westhampnett Road starting from the Hotel Roundabout

From tomorrow Chalcraft lane and Hewarts Lane, North Bersted to Rose Green.

Note that after 3 months I have finished and published on Amazon my first Ebook which is a beginners guide to composing Better Pictures. This will be on free promotion on Amazon this coming Friday for 24 hours. I will email Club members with more details about getting it free on Thursday. Meantime the Books Amazon page is Compose Better Pictures:Amazon UK

My latest 2 HDR pictures are from my last London Trip. The first one was in the Greenwich Foot Tunnel and the second was of the DLR platform at Bank underground Station.

Today could be called the first day of Spring, only a month late. At last thick gloves were no longer needed. There was a lot of cloud but some pleasant warm sunshine in the middle of the day.

I was the leader of the long ride today and we met 9.30 at Chichester Cross. I was joined there by Sam, Rex, Gill and Samantha. Jeff joined us at Rowlands Castle so 6 out on the day.

I led the group on the usual route following the South Coast Cycle Route via Woodmancote and Westbourne. I had not planned to stop at Rowlands Castle, instead heading for Queen Elizabeth Country Park Café for elevenses. This was just as well as the Jeff informed us that the Café at Rowlands Castle has a Notice up Closed until Further Notice. Catastrophic probably our most used café!

We went on via Finchdean and Chalton to stop for elevenses at the Park. We arrived there just as a huge group of cyclists were leaving, about 30 of them, lucky.

Then it was on and upwards to Butser Hill with great views across to the Isle of Wight. We continued on lanes via Ramsdean and Stroud to stop for lunch at The Harrow Inn, Steep just NW of Petersfield.

The return route skirted to the East of Petersfield and then turned off on the quiet lane up to Ditcham Park School with great down land scenery. Thanks to Jeff for doing my usual trick of sprinting to the top of the hill and capturing the exhausted riders.

We stopped at the top for a breather.

We continued via Idsworth and the long drag across Compton Down. 2 more pictures from Jeff below who got on the tail of a Racing Cyclist up the hill. First there is a shot of myself and Rex and then one of the 2 Sam’s.

Then it was down to Compton for a welcome tea stop.

The return was via Funtington, Watery Lane and West Ashling.

Mileage from and back to Chichester was 47. My mileage from Pagham was 61.

Below are my latest 2 HDR pictures taken on a trip to London a week age. The first is a corridor at Embankment Underground Station.

The next is a spiral staircase at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, incidentally the location of a famous photograph of a ghost and other supernatural encounters.

It was pelting with rain this afternoon, very unpleasant. Surprisingly 6 of us turned up at the start point - Carol, Steve, Graham, Sam, Maureen, plus Elizabeth on foot to wish us well. This is probably because the weather had got really bad only after we'd all set out.

After a long chat contemplating life we decided it was really too nasty to go very far. The ride was cancelled.

I then went into Bognor town and whilst parking my bike came across a couple who had cycled over from Brighton and stopped for a bit of R&R as they were cold and wet. Turns out they were heading for Reading via Chichester and Alton and were worried they might not get all the way there without a bit of train assistance. I told them that after Chichester, the next station would be Petersfield, another 20 miles on. They didn't seem worried, in fact i think they were planning to get the train from Alton! Their expedition puts our little trip to the Brick Kiln nurseryinto perspective! I hope they made it!

The weather today started cold but was sunny with light winds and reached the dizzy heights of 11C.

Gill was the leader and was joined only by Sam for the ride to Wiggonholt to meet the other West Sussex Groups for elevenses. I was not fully recovered from my virus/cough so opted to shorten the distance and miss out the hills by taking a train to Amberley.

Sam needed to be back early and Gill also opted to head back from elevenses.

The rest of the riders from Arun Adur and Horsham and Crawley rode together from Wiggonholt.

The ride took us via Nutbourne to the top of the hill for the freewheel start.

The organiser Richard went down first to check on positions. I went down second to be ready for pictures.

A few pictures follow.

In the end the first 3 were well ahead of everybody else. First place was John Clark and second John Veight both from Horsham Section and both on the right in the picture. 3rd

place not in the picture was Paul Price from Arun Adur.

I think I came 4th. Christine riding with Arun Adur easily achieved best Lady being the only Lady taking part.

There were 6 taking part for Horsham, 5 for Arun Adur and 1 for Bognor Chichester so for the DA Events Points Competition we fell at the first hurdle.

Lunch was at the Rising Sun, Nutbourne where in felt quite warm in the garden out of the wind and in the sun.

Arthur was the leader today and he was joined at Chichester Cross by myself, Harvey, Debbie, Alan, Liz, Avryl, Jan, Gill, Christine, Keith, Sam, Dianne and Brian so 14 out on the day. Lynn joined the group after lunch.

Probably the weather brought everybody out. After weeks of dull freezing weather the sun finally came out with bright sunshine in the morning. It was still cold though with temperatures reaching no more than 7C.

Arthur led us along West Street and over the pedestrian rail crossing which is due to be replaced by a bridge later this year.

Then it was on the Emperor Way bike path through Fishbourne and on to back lanes to Bosham. We stopped for elevenses at the Arcade Tea Rooms in Bosham. In the sun and out of the wind it was actually warm enough to sit outside.

As we got ready to leave Sam put back on his Cat Burglar headgear.

As I was still not fully recovered from a chesty cough I headed home soon after elevenses. Arthur led the rest via West Ashling and Woodmancote to stop for lunch at The Village Cafe, Rowlands Castle.

On the way back the group stopped for tea at Fishbourne Roman Palace Cafe.

My return mileage from Pagham was 25 and the full ride from and back to Chichester would have been about the same.

With far too much time indoors of late my latest Photo is from last year at the Paris finish of the Tour de France. This is one from the archives which I converted into a Line Drawing. Bradley Wiggins is in the middle and Mark Cavendish at the back.

I had a chesty cough Sunday so decided not to go out. Colin was the leader and he was joined at Walberton Pond by Anne, Sam and Debbie so 4 braved the freezing blast from the east to ride to Wisborough Green.

With the weather today, Monday consisting of an all day blizzard I thought it a good idea to go back to Tuesday of last week, a brief taste of spring with sunny skies and temperatures up to 13C.

I joined Arun Adur Section for their meet at the Walberton Coffee Morning. There were 8 on the ride from there to Wellies for lunch. Ray led the ride and took us via Eastergate, Oving Road and then across the airfield to Tangmere. I left them there as I had my SLR with me with the aim of capturing some spring flowers. I settled on Boxgrove Churchyard.

Below is a picture of some daffodils with the Church in the background.

The next image is the same location with pictures of some snowdrops which has had the HDR treatment.

There were very pleasant conditions with little wind, temperature about 10 degrees. Although it came over cloudy there was not a drop of rain.

Philippa led this ride and took us up Centurian Way to Lavant station, then lanes around Lavant House School to West Broyle.Then it was a short ride up West Stoke Lane to our tea stop at Wellies tea rooms.

Here occurred the first of our 3 accidents -trouble, they say, comes in threes, and so it came to pass that Steve acquired a puncture. Potentially more serious however, was that whilst we were sitting downstairs in the tearooms, a saucer and cutlery came crashing down from the balcony area immediately above our table, accidentally knocked over the edge by a customer. Although only 6 inches from Steve & Rich, no damage was done - the saucer didn't even break -but if it had hit a head, or been a teapot filled with hot water, the consequences could have been more serious. The proprietor assured us this had never happened before, however I think we will sit upstairs next time.

For the return route we continued up into West Stoke, then it was left into Lye Lane with a very pleasant downward incline through Moutheys Lane, Clay Lane, Fishbourne and back into Chichester.

Accident number 3 occurred right at the end of the ride when Steve discovered a 2nd puncture, unfortunate as we had made particular efforts to get the cause of the previous puncture completely out of the tyre.

My mileage from Bognor was a tad over 26 - the round trip from Chichester would have been about 12.

Sunday 3rd March. Ride to East MeonThe weather today was a little warmer than last Sunday managing to achieve the dizzy heights of 7C. The morning was cloudy and dull but in the afternoon the skies gradually cleared to produce bright sunshine for a change.

I was the leader and I was joined at Chichester Cross by Jeff, Sam, Colin (just returned from cycling in Burma) and newcomer on his first ride with us Mark Jones.

I led the group out on Clay Lane on the South Coast Cycleroute lanes via Woodmancote and Westbourne. Then it was the lane down to Rowlands Castle which was closed due to flooding at the temporary river which crosses the road. We bypassed that on the raised footpath.

Then it was on to the Village Cafe, Rowlands Castle for elevenses and to warm up. We continued via Finchdean which had seen flooding with sandbags piled up. Then it was a lane on to Chalton and the stiff climb up to the crossing over the A3. Then it was up the gradual climb to Butser Hill.

At the top Sam warned Mark of the dangers of the very steep descent with gravel and Potholes. Sam then gave an excellent demonstration of the motto “do as I say not as I do” by flying down and managing a top speed of 46 mph.

It was then a short way on lanes and lunch at the Isaac Walton, East Meon.

On the way back on a lane out of East Meon I stopped the group for a Photo Shoot beside a beautiful bank of snowdrops.

Then it was the quiet lane across to Buriton and up that!! Hill. I stopped at the top and was able to catch a shot of the tail ender looking very unhappy.

Then it was the long descent and back via Finchdean and then Rowlands Castle for tea . Even the waitress said to Sam “not you again” I did have hidden motives in stopping there again, namely the very large sized Apple Pie and Custard they do there.

The return was via Funtington and then the lanes via West Stoke and the Centurion Way down to Chichester.

Mileage from and back to Chichester was 45. My mileage from Pagham was 58.

Below are some of my latest HDR photos to be processed. The first is a shot from a viewpoint on Lanzarote with a fisheye lens which I titled Small World. The second is a shot taken on the Northern part of the Piccadilly Line looking down an escalator.